Prophet. (The Ottoman Turks, who finally conquered Constantinople, belong to a later period than
that with which we are now concerned.)
Various circumstances facilitated this expansion. Persia and the Eastern Empire were exhausted
by their long wars. The Syrians, who were largely Nestorian, suffered persecution at the hands of
the Catholics, whereas Mohammedans tolerated all sects of Christians in return for the payment of
tribute. Similarly in Egypt the Monophysites, who were the bulk of the population, welcomed the
invaders. In Africa, the Arabs allied themselves with the Berbers, whom the Romans had never
thoroughly subdued. Arabs and Berbers together invaded Spain, where they were helped by the
Jews, whom the Visigoths had severely persecuted.
The religion of the Prophet was a simple monotheism, uncomplicated by the elaborate theology of
rite Trinity and the Incarnation. The Prophet made no claim to be divine, nor did his followers
make such a claim on his behalf. He revived the Jewish prohibition of graven images, and forbade
the use of wine. It was the duty of the faithful to conquer as much of the world as possible for
Islam, but there was to be no persecution of Christians, Jews, or Zoroastrians-the "people of the
Book," as the Koran calls them, i.e., those who followed the teaching of a Scripture.
Arabia was largely desert, and was growing less and less capable of supporting its population. The
first conquests of the Arabs began as mere raids for plunder, and only turned into permanent
occupation after experience had shown the weakness of the enemy. Suddenly, in the course of
some twenty years, men accustomed to all the hardships of a meagre existence on the fringe of the
desert found themselves masters of some of the richest regions of the world, able to enjoy every
luxury and to acquire all the refinements of an ancient civilization. They withstood the
temptations of this transformation better than most of the Northern barbarians had done. As they
had acquired their empire without much severe fighting, there had been little destruction, and the
civil administration was kept on almost unchanged. Both in Persia and in the Byzantine Empire,
the civil government had been highly organized. The Arab tribesmen, at first, understood nothing
of its complications, and perforce accepted the services of the trained men whom they found in
charge. These men, for the most part,